A striking feature of the marine fossil record is the variable intensity of extinction during superficially similar climate transitions. Here we combine climate models and species trait simulations to explore the degree to which differing palaeogeographic boundary conditions and differing magnitudes of cooling and glaciation can explain the relative intensity of marine extinction during greenhouse - icehouse transitions in the Late Ordovician and the Cenozoic. Simulations modelled the response of virtual species to cooling climate using a spatially explicit cellular automaton algorithm. We find that palaeogeography alone may be a contributing factor, as identical changes in meridional sea surface temperature gradients caused greater extinction in Late Ordovician simulations than in Cenozoic simulations. Differences in extinction from palaeogeography are significant, but by themselves are insufficient to explain observed differences in extinction intensity. However, when simulations included inferred changes in continental flooding and interval-specific models of sea surface temperature, predicted differences in relative extinction intensity were more consistent with observations from the fossil record. Our results support the hypothesis that intense extinction in the Late Ordovician is partially attributable to exceptionally rapid and severe cooling compared to Cenozoic events.

Schena, T., Lazzari, E., Primaz, C., Canielas Krause, L., Machado, M.E., Bastos Caramão, E., 2020. Upgrading of coconut fibers bio-oil: An investigation by GC×GC/TOFMS. Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering 8, 103662.

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2213343720300105 Pyrolysis of agroindustrial waste is an important way to add value to this material avoiding its discard in the environment. However, when residues are derived from oilseeds or similar, it is possible to find a large amount of fatty acid derivatives in the biomass and later in bio-oil composition. These compounds are not adequately thermo-degraded in pyrolysis processes, reducing the quality. Another common compound class and with a high added value present in bio-oils are phenols. In this work two forms of upgrading processes were performed in coconut fiber pyrolysis process. One of them is the alkaline extraction of coconut fiber bio-oil in order to produce a high acidic and a neutral fraction. The other upgrading process is a biomass pretreatment before the pyrolysis, using two different extraction techniques (Soxhlet and ultrasound). The two processes proved to be efficient and complimentary: in the first case, there was the pre-concentration of the phenols in a single fraction and in the second one, a great part of the fatty acids derivatives were removed from the bi-oil. These results indicate that the two techniques can be used to improve the quality of bio-oil produced by removing the free fatty acids from biomass and isolating compounds with high added value (in the case of phenols).

Schiffbauer, J.D., Selly, T., Jacquet, S.M., Merz, R.A., Nelson, L.L., Strange, M.A., Cai, Y., Smith, E.F., 2020. Discovery of bilaterian-type through-guts in cloudinomorphs from the terminal Ediacaran Period. Nature Communications 11, 205.

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-13882-z Cloudina The fossil record of the terminal Ediacaran Period is typified by the iconic index fossil and its relatives. These tube-dwellers are presumed to be primitive metazoans, but resolving their phylogenetic identity has remained a point of contention. The root of the problem is a lack of diagnostic features; that is, phylogenetic interpretations have largely centered on the only available source of information - their external tubes. Here, using tomographic analyses of fossils from the Wood Canyon Formation (Nevada, USA), we report evidence of recognizable soft tissues within their external tubes. Although alternative interpretations are plausible, these internal cylindrical structures may be most appropriately interpreted as digestive tracts, which would be, to date, the earliest-known occurrence of such features in the fossil record. If this interpretation is correct, their nature as one-way through-guts not only provides evidence for establishing these fossils as definitive bilaterians but also has implications for the long-debated phylogenetic position of the broader cloudinomorphs.

Schmieder, M., Kring, D.A., 2019. Earth's impact events through geologic time: A list of recommended ages for terrestrial impact structures and deposits. Astrobiology 20, 91-141. https://doi.org/10.1089/ast.2019. 2085